IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

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Dulcie Wiggins
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1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 1 RENTBERRY INC., a Delaware corporation, and Delaney Wysingle, an individual, Plaintiffs, THE CITY OF SEATTLE, a Washington municipal corporation, v. Defendant. Civil Action No. CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 0 1 Plaintiffs, Rentberry, Inc., and Delaney Wysingle, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby file this Complaint against Defendant City of Seattle (hereinafter the City and allege as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. This civil rights action seeks to vindicate Plaintiffs rights of freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The City is violating those rights by enforcing a ban on rental bidding websites that facilitate communication between landlords and renters in the City of Seattle. Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

2 1 0 1 JURISDICTION AND VENUE. This case is brought pursuant to U.S.C. and and U.S.C. 01 and 0.. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction based on U.S.C. 1 and (a( and (.. Venue in this Court is appropriate pursuant to U.S.C 1(b. PARTIES. Plaintiff Rentberry, Inc., is a start-up founded in late 0 as an online platform to assist users both landlords and renters to find and manage rental housing. Rentberry s purpose is to reduce costs, delay, and uncertainty in the rental process. Rentberry operates a website that facilitates communications between landlords and tenants in, cities.. Rentberry s innovative online communication platform allows renters and landlords, including landlords like Plaintiff Delaney Wysingle, to communicate about rental properties and maintain lasting landlord tenant relationships.. A key feature of the Rentberry platform is its online bidding technology, which increases transparency and efficiency and allows landlords and tenants to adjust to changes in housing markets by bidding on the rental rate for a housing unit.. Rentberry facilitates communications between landlords and renters regarding lease terms, including rent, deposits, and lease duration, through its online bidding process.. Rentberry s bidding platform is designed to facilitate communication of price information in real time, to ensure that landlords price their properties optimally in both hot and slow markets, while potential tenants enjoy complete visibility on competing offers and the ability to seamlessly negotiate rental terms online.. As well as lease terms, including rent, deposits, and lease duration, Rentberry also facilitates communication on a wide variety of topics related to housing between landlords and renters regarding maintenance requests, housing references, search engine functions, and reviews. Many of these communications do not propose a commercial transaction. Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

3 All of the communications Rentberry facilitates are inextricably intertwined with the complex, personal, and long-lasting relationships between landlord and tenant that are initiated by the bidding process. 1. The bidding feature is an integral component of Rentberry s website.. Rentberry collects a fee at different stages in the rental process: Tenants pay $. per application (this includes credit report/score, criminal/background check; Landlords pay $. for document execution and rent collection functionality; Landlords pay $. to utilize the platform if they have more than properties on the platform; Brokers pay $. to utilize the platform.. Rentberry is incorporated in Delaware (EIN: - and operates from an office in San Francisco, California.. Plaintiff Delaney Wysingle is a landlord who owns and manages a single-family rental home in Seattle.. Mr. Wysingle has owned and managed his rental property for three years and intends to continue to do so in the future.. Mr. Wysingle periodically needs to find new tenants for his rental property and will need to do so again in the summer of 0.. Mr. Wysingle plans to communicate with prospective tenants using Rentberry and other rental housing bidding platforms, as defined in SMC..00. Mr. Wysingle would use bidding platforms to save time, settle on a mutually beneficial arrangement with prospective tenants, and determine the best market rent through bidding. Mr. Wysingle would consider a bid below his initial asking price if the applicant seemed otherwise qualified. Mr. Wysingle would also use Rentberry s search functions for Seattle properties in order to evaluate competition and view dynamic pricing in the residential housing market.. Mr. Wysingle values the right to easily communicate with his tenants, and Rentberry would facilitate easier communication with both existing and prospective tenants. Mr. Wysingle cannot afford to absorb losses because of a tenancy gone bad. Mr. Wysingle Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

4 1 0 1 treasures his right to ensure compatibility by easily communicating with eligible applicants and tenants. 0. Defendant City of Seattle is a Washington state municipality located in King County and chartered by the State of Washington. FACTS 1. On March, 0, the City Council voted to amend Seattle s Rental Agreement Regulation Ordinance, SMC..00 to.0, by approving Ordinance No. 1 (hereinafter the website ban.. Exhibit 1 is a true and accurate copy of the website ban. 1. On March 0, 0, Mayor Jenny Durkan approved the website ban.. On April, 0, the website ban became effective and is codified at SMC..00 and The website ban establishes a one-year prohibition on the use of Rental housing bidding platforms, like Rentberry, that connect[] potential tenants and landlords via an application based or online platform to facilitate rental housing auctions wherein potential tenants submit competing bids on certain lease provisions including but not limited to housing costs and lease term, to landlords for approval or denial. SMC..00; SMC..00(A, (B.. Rentberry is a Rental housing bidding platform as defined by the website ban.. The City s staff memo regarding the website ban identified two websites as targets of the website ban: Rentberry and Biddwell.. Exhibit is a true and accurate copy of the staff memo.. Landlords and potential tenants are prohibited from using rental housing bidding platforms for real property located in Seattle city limits. SMC..00(A. 1 The website ban is also available online: AA-FA1&FullText=1 The staff memo is also available online: DF Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

5 Landlords and tenants are free to discuss competing bids on certain lease provisions including but not limited to housing costs and lease term, so long as they do not communicate via a rental housing bidding platform. 1. By banning landlords and potential tenants from using Rentberry s innovative communications platform for real property located in Seattle city limits, the website ban operates as a prior restraint on lawful expression.. By banning the use of rental housing bidding platforms like Rentberry, the website ban prohibits all speech communicated on the platform, including bidding.. Failure to comply with the Rental Agreement Regulation Ordinance, including the website ban, subjects landlords and tenants to a $00 fine for the first violation and a $1,000 fine for each subsequent violation within a five-year period. SMC..0(F(1. Additional violations within a three-year period can result in criminal charges. SMC..0.. But for the City s enforcement of the website ban, Rentberry would make its site available to facilitate communications between Seattle landlords and tenants.. But for the City s enforcement of the website ban, Mr. Wysingle would use rental bidding platforms, including Rentberry, to communicate with potential tenants.. The website ban was passed to prevent landlords and tenants from communicating via rental housing bidding platforms while the Office of Housing coordinate[s] with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections to determine whether rental housing bidding platforms comply with The City of Seattle s fair housing and rental regulation laws and conduct a study of the current or potential impacts rental housing bidding platforms have and could have on equitable access to Seattle s rental housing market. SMC..00(C(.. The website ban prevents landlords and tenants from communicating via rental housing bidding platforms because it is unclear whether the structure and operation of these new Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

6 1 0 1 services comply with the City s code, including new regulations such as first-in-time. Ordinance 1 at 1, lines -0.. The first-in-time regulation referenced in the website ban does not apply if the landlord is legally obligated to or voluntarily sets aside the rental unit for specific vulnerable populations. SMC.0.00(A((a, (b. Accessory dwelling units and detached accessory dwelling units are also exempted.. The first-in-time rule referenced in the website ban has been declared unconstitutional. Yim v. City of Seattle, Case No (King Cnty. Super. Ct. 0, appeal docketed, No. -1 (Washington Supreme Court Apr., The City Council did not make any legislative findings and has no evidence that rental housing bidding platforms violate the City of Seattle s fair housing and rental regulation laws. 1. The City Council did not make any legislative findings and has no evidence that rental housing bidding platforms have any impact on equitable access to Seattle s rental housing market.. The City Council did not make any legislative findings and has no evidence that the website ban directly advances a substantial governmental interest.. The connection between rental housing bidding platforms and any governmental interest is unclear, uncertain, and has not been studied in Seattle. Ordinance 1 at 1, lines -. CLAIM FOR RELIEF (Free Speech (First and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiffs incorporate the allegations in the preceding paragraphs.. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, protects the truthful, nonmisleading speech that Mr. Wysingle would engage in on rental bidding platforms, including Rentberry. Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

7 The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, protects the truthful, nonmisleading speech that is facilitated by Rentberry s website.. On its face and as enforced by the City, the website ban prohibits Plaintiffs from engaging in lawful communication through a rental housing bidding platform.. The speech ban imposed by the website ban burdens Plaintiffs rights of free speech.. The speech ban imposed by the website ban is not tailored to serve a substantial government interest. 0. By prohibiting Plaintiffs from communicating through a rental housing bidding platform, the City currently maintains and actively enforces a set of laws, practices, policies, and procedures under color of state law that deprive Plaintiffs of their rights of free speech, in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment and U.S.C.. 1. Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law to compensate for the loss of these fundamental freedoms and will suffer irreparable injury absent an injunction restraining the City s enforcement of the website ban.. Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to declaratory and permanent injunctive relief against continued enforcement and maintenance of the City s unconstitutional laws, practices, and policies. See U.S.C. 01, 0. PRAYER FOR RELIEF Wherefore, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court enter judgment in their favor as follows: A. Declare that SMC..00(A violates Plaintiffs rights to freedom of speech protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments on its face and as applied; /// Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

8 1 B. Preliminarily and permanently enjoin Defendant, its officers, agents, servants, employees, and all persons in active concert or participation with them from enforcing SMC..00(A; C. Award Plaintiffs their costs, attorneys fees, and other expenses in accordance with law, including U.S.C. ; and D. Order such additional relief as may be just and proper. DATED: May, 0. Respectfully submitted, s/ BRIAN T. HODGES Brian T. Hodges, WSBA # 0 Northeast rd Place, Suite Telephone: ( -0 Fax: ( - BHodges@pacificlegal.org Attorneys for Plaintiffs Wencong Fa, California Bar # 0 ** 0 G Street Sacramento, California Telephone: ( -1 Fax: ( - WFa@pacificlegal.org James Manley, Arizona Bar # 00 ** East Shea Blvd., # Phoenix, Arizona 0 Telephone: ( -0 JManley@pacificlegal.org ** Pro hac vice pending 0 1 Civ. Rights Complaint for Decl. & Inj. Relief - 0 NE rd Pl., Suite ( -0

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Courthouse News Service IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 11th JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA ~~ UNITED TEACHERS OF DADE, AFT, NEA, PEA, AFL-CIO and KAREN ARONOWITZ, citizen of Florida. ~!.~.-::1 ): -, Plaintiffs,